"MS Dhoni Absorbs All Pressure": Jasprit Bumrah Backs Former India Captain

MS Dhoni held up one end as the batsmen at the other struggled against the West Indies in their World Cup 2019 league match on Thursday as he helped India reach a comfortable position in Manchester. The 2011 World Cup-winning captain scored unbeaten 56 off 61 balls, including three boundaries and two sixes, as India posted 268/7 after opting to bat. In the previous match against Afghanistan, MS Dhoni was criticised for a slow batting approach. However, after his showing against the Windies, fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah came up in support of MS Dhoni, claiming that the 37-year-old played a "top-rated" inning at Old Trafford.

"Such type of innings is highly underrated. Sometimes, it appears as if he (Dhoni) is playing slowly and takes a lot of time. But while batting on such wickets, it is important to take your time. We all saw how he took the game deep and in the end, it was because of him that we could reach 268 which was a very good total on this wicket," said Bumrah while speaking to Yuzvendra Chahal for bcci.tv.

Against the West Indies, Dhoni once again started slowly as he took his time to get used to the pitch and scored his first 20 runs off 40 deliveries. However, he compensated for it in the later stages of the game as he ended up scoring 56 not out, of which 16 he collected in the last over of the innings bowled by Oshane Thomas.

During the course of his innings, he shared a 70-run partnership with Hardik Pandya and helped India reach 268/7 which according to Bumrah was a par score in Manchester.

"This is where his experience comes in handy for the team as he absorbs all the pressure, takes the game deep and backs his style of play. We youngsters learn a lot from him. So, it was a top-rated inning because of which we could reach around 270," he added.

Dhoni was criticised by many for his slow batting against Afghanistan where he took 52 balls to score 28 runs which had reduced India's scoring rate in the middle overs and India managed to score just 224 runs in their allotted 50 overs which eventually they were able to defend on the back of some disciplined bowling from Bumrah and Mohammed Shami.

(With IANS inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team MS Dhoni Jasprit Bumrah World Cup 2019 Cricket West Indies vs India, Match 34